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The Gwa’sala-Nakwaxd’xw Nation (GNN) is a community of about 500 near the north tip of Vancouver Island. Formed in 1964 with the joining of two separate communities, GNN has undergone a significant harmonization of its community governance and administrative processes. GNN owns and operates over $33 million in infrastructure (excluding housing) and delivers a wide variety of essential community services.

In the spring of 2015, GNN invited KWL to facilitate the development of Phase 1 of its Asset Management Program. The program is designed for the management of GNN-owned infrastructure including water, wastewater, road, building, housing, and solid waste assets. KWL worked closely with GNN’s Asset Management Advisory Committee throughout each step of the program’s development.

Because a core objective of the project was building community capacity, regular working sessions with the Advisory Committee were a key component of the program. Phase 1 involved conducting a baseline analysis to support future budget, maintenance, and replacement decisions by GNN’s Advisory Committee. The focus was on creating a consolidated inventory, understanding the value of existing assets, and determining the condition of all GNN-owned infrastructure. Mobile technology was used to develop a workflow and support initial training for locating service connections in the field. Building condition assessment sheets were created to understand the condition of non-INAC-funded assets, and to provide a method for staff to undertake ongoing assessments and communicate their results to decision-makers in a consistent manner. To build community awareness, the inventory has been accompanied by a collection of factsheets outlining the state of GNN’s assets. A renewal plan was prepared to show where major investments are needed over the next five years and beyond. At the end of Phase 1, a roadmap was developed with key targets and strategies for the highest priority assets with next steps identified by the Advisory Committee.